Outreach workers rush to get homeless people off the streets as polar vortex approaches
With the first significant cold snap of the winter upon us, getting people into a shelter and off the streets can be the difference between life and death.
“The biggest difference is just that danger element of the cold you know. It’s never fun being homeless, it’s not fun being outside when it’s zero degrees but when it’s minus 15, minus 20, it becomes dangerous,” says the coordinator of the Navigator Street Outreach Program, Eric Jonsson.
Michael Kabalen is the executive director of the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia. He says based on their data, there are 799 people experiencing chronic homelessness in Halifax.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean all 799 people are in need of emergency shelter either. People could be couch surfing, they could be living in their cars, they could be living in inadequate housing, so those folks typically have, in this type of weather, a place to go,” Kabalen says.
It’s difficult to put an exact number on how many people are living rough outside. However, as frigid temperatures move in, finding a place out of the cold is difficult.
“We do know all the shelters are effectively full as of last night. There’s a couple of beds here and there but for the most part, the shelters are running full,” says Kabalen.
For the first time this winter, ice is forming in Charlottetown Harbour, an indication of how cold it is. Prince Edward Island’s department of Social Development and Housing is opening shelters and has secured additional beds if shelters reach capacity.
Back in Nova Scotia, Jonsson says there is something people can do to help.
“Checking on people. I think a lot of people in the general public know homeless people in their neighbourhood and they don’t want to bother them or anything like that. But check in on the folks they know who are outside and see if they need anything.
Jonsson says donations of warm clothes, sleeping bags, hats and gloves can be taken to any outreach program in the area.
There is some help coming, although it is down the road. One-hundred-and-two shelter rooms and 60 affordable units will be completed by the end of the year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING King Charles' cancer treatment progressing well, says Buckingham Palace
King Charles III’s doctors are 'sufficiently pleased' with his cancer treatment and he is expected to return to public-facing duties, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
'Unacceptable': Trudeau reacts after AFN chief says headdress taken from plane cabin
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief said her headdress was taken from an airplane cabin this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the incident 'unacceptable' and a 'mistake' on the part of Air Canada.
DEVELOPING Bird flu outbreaks: WHO weighs in on public health risk
The current overall public health risk posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus is low, the World Health Organization said on Friday, but urged countries to stay alert for cases of animal-to-human transmission.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Regina police officer injured after being accidentally shot by fellow officer's gun
An investigation is underway after a Regina police officer was accidentally shot by a fellow officer’s gun during the search of a house early Friday morning.
From faulty kids' cribs to flammable kids' bathrobes, here are the recalls of the week
Health Canada issued recalls for various items this week, including kids’ bathrobes, cribs and henna cones.
Taylor Swift dons Montreal designer's dress in 'Fortnight' video
A pair of Montreal designers' work has now been viewed over 41 million times. Taylor Swift dons a Victorian throwback black gown in her latest music video, 'Fortnight', designed by UNTTLD due Simon Belanger and Jose Manuel Saint-Jacques.
Island near Mull of Kintyre for sale for US$3.1 million
An idyllic 453-acre private island is up for sale off the west coast of Scotland and it comes with sandy beaches, puffins galore, seven houses, a pub, a helipad and a flock of black-faced sheep.